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« on: Sunday 09 July 23 20:02 BST (UK) »
Many thanks for your help.
If it is in straightforward latin then that is a big step forward.
One of the professional transcribers I contacted about this document had this to say:
...........This particular will actually seems to be in Latin. While most English will are in English, some of the older Scottish wills are in Latin – and even when they’re in English – it’s usually in Old Scottish, which is extremely challenging. I am not even sure whether this is actually a will or what’s known as a ‘testament dative’, which is the old Scottish form of letters of administration when the deceased had died intestate.
I’ve had a go at Old Scottish before, but to be honest, I do find it particularly challenging, so even if the other documents you have are in that form, you might be better finding someone in Scotland who has expertise in the old Scottish hand, and who also can translate from Latin.
Another Transcriber had this to say:
Thank you for your offer of work transcribing or summarising the testament of John Drysdaill.
In this case, although the handwriting is fairly typical for sixteenth century Scotland, the testament is in Latin, with many abbreviations. For this you would need a good Latinist who can also tackle sixteenth century handwriting. My Latin is simply not up to it.
Best regards