although not a translation of, the vi et armis of English writs of trespass, and opening up certain delictal rights and remedies in the courts. We can find it in use in the burgh court of Aberdeen in 1317, the year before the statute, when in two actions of defamation the Latin record shows the defenders through the mouths of their forespeakers denying wrang et unlaw,52 I would argue that these pleadings were in Scots, and that the recording clerk could find no Latin in which to express what the forespeakers actually said. Other thirteenth-century evidence reinforces this argument for the existence of a vernacular technical term. about one hundred years before the two cases in Aberdeen, the beneficiary of a lay charter was granted jurisdiction in merchet et blodwit et unlah', 53 while around 1270 the jurisdiction of a lay tenant of paisley abbey was said to include placitis de wrang et hunlanve', 4 It is true that we have record of legislation of 1230 referring to querelae de iniuria et non racione' 5 apparently providing us with at least a Latin equivalent of wrang and unlauch; but the earliest version of this act is in a fourteenth-century manuscript and may therefore represent a tidied-up ed ition rather than what the original actuall said. Whatever, the act seems to support the argument that wrang and unlauch was a well established legal concept for most of the thirteenth century The earliest undeniable instance of vernacular plead ing is in a case before the king and parliament in 1391. The Latin notarial instrument in which this pleading is recorded tells us that Sir Thomas erskine spoke in the vulgar tongue as follows or at least in similar words My lorde the kyng, it is done me til understand that thare is a certane contract made bytwene Schir Malcolme of Dromonde and Schir John of Swynton apon the landis of the Erledome of Marr and the Lordship of Garvyauch, of the quhilkes erldome and lordship Issa bell the said Schir Malcolms wyf is vernay and lauchfull ayre, And failliand of the ayrez of hir body the half of the formeymt erldome and lordship perteignys to my wy fe of richt of heretage. Tharefore I require you for Goddis sakeas my lorde and my kyng as lauchful actornay to my said wyfe that, in case gif ony sic contract be made in prejudice of my sa ide wyfe of that at aucht of richt and of lauch perteigne til hir in fee and heritage failliand of the sa ide lssa bell as is before sa ide, that yhe grant na confirmation thare apon in hurtyng of the commone lauch of the kynryk and of my wyvis richt, swa that sic contract gif ony be make na prejudice no hurtyng to my fomemyt wife of that at scho aucht to succede to as lauchfulayre The king responded, apparently also in Scots To the qwhilk our lorde the kyng answerit, saiand that he had weel herd and understand his request and said that hym thocht his request was resonable. And said als that it suld nocht be his wil in that case, no in nane other, oucht to do or to conferme that suld ryn ony man in prejudice of thair Early Records of the Burgh of Aberdeen 1317: 1398-1407, ed W.C. Dickinson(Scottish History Society, Edinburgh, 1957), pp. 8, 10 British Library, Loans 29(Portland MSS, Welbeck), no 355 (a reference which I owe to Geoffrey Barrow who kindly provided me with a copy of his transcript and notes) Registrum Monasterii de Passelet(maitland Club, 1832), p 52. Mr w.w. Scott will publish in the forthcoming Miscellany volume of the Scottish History Society another charter of the mid-thirteenth century referring to jurisdiction in wrang et unlauch APS,ip.402◎x APS, i, p. 578.I have normalised punctuation and capitalisationalthough not a translation of, the vi et armis of English writs of trespass, and opening up certain delictal rights and remedies in the courts. We can find it in use in the burgh court of Aberdeen in 1317, the year before the statute, when in two actions of defamation the Latin record shows the defenders through the mouths of their forespeakers denying ‘wrang et unlaw’.52 I would argue that these pleadings were in Scots, and that the recording clerk could find no Latin in which to express what the forespeakers actually said. Other thirteenth-century evidence reinforces this argument for the existence of a vernacular technical term. About one hundred years before the two cases in Aberdeen, the beneficiary of a lay charter was granted jurisdiction in ‘merchet et blodwit et unlah’,53 while around 1270 the jurisdiction of a lay tenant of Paisley abbey was said to include ‘placitis de wrang et hunlawe’.54 It is true that we have record of legislation of 1230 referring to ‘querelae de iniuria et non racione’,55 apparently providing us with at least a Latin equivalent of wrang and unlauch; but the earliest version of this act is in a fourteenth-century manuscript and may therefore represent a tidied-up edition rather than what the original actually said. Whatever, the act seems to support the argument that wrang and unlauch was a well￾established legal concept for most of the thirteenth century. The earliest undeniable instance of vernacular pleading is in a case before the king and parliament in 1391. The Latin notarial instrument in which this pleading is recorded tells us that Sir Thomas Erskine spoke in the vulgar tongue as follows or at least in similar words:56 My lorde the kyng, it is done me til understand that thare is a certane contract made bytwene Schir Malcolme of Dromonde and Schir John of Swynton apon the landis of the Erledome of Marr and the Lordship of Garvyauch, of the quhilkes erldome and lordship Issa bell the said Schir Malcolms wyf is verray and lauchfull ayre, And failliand of the ayrez of hir body the half of the forneymt erldome and lordship perteignys to my wyfe of richt of heretage. Tharefore I require you for Goddis sake as my lorde and my kyng as lauchful actornay to my said wyfe that, in case gif ony sic contract be made in preiudice of my saide wyfe of that at aucht of richt and of lauch perteigne til hir in fee and heritage failliand of the saide Issabell as is before saide, that yhe grant na confirmacion thare apon in hurtyng of the commone lauch of the kynryk and of my wyvis richt, swa that sic contract gif ony be make na preiudice no hurtyng to my fornemyt wife of that at scho aucht to succede to as lauchful ayre. The king responded, apparently also in Scots: To the qwhilk our lorde the kyng answerit, saiand that he had weel herd and undirstand his request, and said that hym thocht his request was resonable. And said als that it suld nocht be his wil in that case, no in nane othir, oucht to do or to conferme that suld ryn ony man in preiudice of thair 52 Early Records of the Burgh of Aberdeen 1317; 1398-1407, ed. W.C. Dickinson (Scottish History Society, Edinburgh, 1957), pp. 8, 10. 53 British Library, Loans 29 (Portland MSS, Welbeck), no. 355 (a reference which I owe to Geoffrey Barrow, who kindly provided me with a copy of his transcript and notes). 54 Registrum Monasterii de Passelet (Maitland Club, 1832), p. 52. Mr W.W. Scott will publish in the forthcoming Miscellany volume of the Scottish History Society another charter of the mid-thirteenth century referring to jurisdiction in ‘wrang et unlauch’. 55 APS, i, p. 402 © xi). 56 APS, i, p. 578. I have normalised punctuation and capitalisation