But the listening audience, be it the populace at large, an assize, or the tenants of an estate, had to understand what was being said, and vernacular translations, in Scots and perhaps in Gaelic too must have been essential to this process, given that the great bulk of the population knew little or no Latin. 62 In 13 12 a lease drawn up in Latin was interlined with 'a kind of running commentary or gloss in the Scots vernacular, translating technical terms in the document; 63 this may exemplify what was in fact common practice from an early date with Latin documents facilitating their understand ing by the people affected by their terms By the second half of the fourteenth century, I would suggest, Scots had long been the regular language of the law outside certain matters of form, and the emergence of this language in legal documents and records simply reflected a well-entrenched fact. But this legal language like the common law which it recorded and expressed, was the product of multiple influences direct and ind irect, in which other languages played a large and by no means a contested role What lessons should be drawn from this early history of the common law of Scotland for the development of the new European ius commune? It seems -and contemporary experience shows the same pattern -that a common language is not a prerequisite of a common law. But there is a tendency, based as much upon convenience and communication as upon anything else, which leads to the growing use in practice and daily legal intercourse of a single language, accessible to if not spoken by the mass of the people. 64 But in Scotland, at least, this growing use in practice of the common tongue never amounted to a monopoly: Latin maintained a place in the law alongside, first, Scots, and then standard English, into the twentieth century; and even now, in the twenty-first, like Scots, it has not wholly disappeared from the lexicon and vocabulary of the lawyer. Moreover, in the Middle Ages, the Scots which grew to be the language of ordinary usage in law was influenced, to a greater or lesser extent, by the languages which had preceded it and from which it grew; just as, one suspects, the English of Scots lawyers is not altogether that of their English brethren. Perhaps then there is something in the notion eloquently given voice in English by Ewoud Hondius in his speech at the conclusion of the conference where this paper was given, that the English in which the modern European ius commune is typically being expressed will develop -or has already begun to develop-its own characteristics as a language of law, drawing subliminally from the great reservoir of the tongues and laws of Europe In 1992 there was established at Strasbourg the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, a treaty of the Member States of the Council of Europe which aims to a/ o Literacy in medieval Scotland has been little studied, but see Grant, Independence and Nationhood, pp 101-6, and Simpson, Scottish Handwriting, pp 6-12 Liber ecclesie de Scon(Bannatyne and Maitland Clubs, Edinburgh, 1843), no. 144, facsimile between pp 104-5; see also the editor's introduction at p xix and his footnoted list of the terms translated with their translations The quotation is from Barrow, Manuscript Production, at p 137 Observe the pressure within the European patent system to reduce from the present costly multiplicity of official languages in the European Patent Office to a more manageable amount, such as three or even one. It is said that if the UK had not joined the European Patent Convention and the European Communities, it would have been much easier to adopt English as the language of European patents On the other hand, if expensive, the European patent system is undeniably successful despite the supposed Tower of Babel in Munich 65 Note, however, the publication of French and Italian translations of the Principles of European Contract Law, by Denis Tallon and Carlo Castronovo, respectively. Other translations are in the pipelineBut the listening audience, be it the populace at large, an assize, or the tenants of an estate, had to understand what was being said, and vernacular translations, in Scots and perhaps in Gaelic too, must have been essential to this process, given that the great bulk of the population knew little or no Latin.62 In 1312 a lease drawn up in Latin was interlined with ‘a kind of running commentary or gloss in the Scots vernacular’, translating technical terms in the document;63 this may exemplify what was in fact common practice from an early date with Latin documents, facilitating their understanding by the people affected by their terms. By the second half of the fourteenth century, I would suggest, Scots had long been the regular language of the law outside certain matters of form, and the emergence of this language in legal documents and records simply reflected a well-entrenched fact. But this legal language, like the common law which it recorded and expressed, was the product of multiple influences, direct and indirect, in which other languages played a large and by no means a contested role. What lessons should be drawn from this early history of the common law of Scotland for the development of the new European ius commune? It seems - and contemporary experience shows the same pattern - that a common language is not a prerequisite of a common law. But there is a tendency, based as much upon convenience and communication as upon anything else, which leads to the growing use in practice and daily legal intercourse of a single language, accessible to if not spoken by the mass of the people.64 But in Scotland, at least, this growing use in practice of the common tongue never amounted to a monopoly; Latin maintained a place in the law alongside, first, Scots, and then standard English, into the twentieth century; and even now, in the twenty-first, like Scots, it has not wholly disappeared from the lexicon and vocabulary of the lawyer. Moreover, in the Middle Ages, the Scots which grew to be the language of ordinary usage in law was influenced, to a greater or lesser extent, by the languages which had preceded it and from which it grew; just as, one suspects, the English of Scots lawyers is not altogether that of their English brethren. Perhaps then there is something in the notion, eloquently given voice in English by Ewoud Hondius in his speech at the conclusion of the conference where this paper was given, that the English in which the modern European ius commune is typically being expressed will develop - or has already begun to develop - its own characteristics as a language of law, drawing subliminally from the great reservoir of the tongues and laws of Europe.65 In 1992 there was established at Strasbourg the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, a treaty of the Member States of the Council of Europe which aims to 62 Literacy in medieval Scotland has been little studied, but see Grant, Independence and Nationhood, pp. 101-6, and Simpson, Scottish Handwriting, pp. 6-12. 63 Liber Ecclesie de Scon (Bannatyne and Maitland Clubs, Edinburgh, 1843), no. 144, facsimile between pp. 104-5; see also the editor’s introduction at p. xix and his footnoted list of the terms translated with their translations. The quotation is from Barrow, ‘Manuscript Production’, at p. 137. 64 Observe the pressure within the European patent system to reduce from the present costly multiplicity of official languages in the European Patent Office to a more manageable amount, such as three or even one. It is said that if the UK had not joined the European Patent Convention and the European Communities, it would have been much easier to adopt English as the language of European patents. On the other hand, if expensive, the European patent system is undeniably successful despite the supposed Tower of Babel in Munich. 65 Note, however, the publication of French and Italian translations of the Principles of European Contract Law, by Denis Tallon and Carlo Castronovo, respectively. Other translations are in the pipeline