How Older Scots wrote about fornication, from Lyndsay to the kirk session
In short
Older Scots used 'fornicatioun', with spellings such as 'fornicacioun', recorded by the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue from about 1490. David Lyndsay paired it with adultery around 1552. After the Reformation, kirk session records, which survive from 1569 at the National Records of Scotland, recorded such cases in their own Scots vocabulary.
What the full article will cover
- What was the Older Scots word for fornication?
- Where does it appear in early Scots texts?
- What vocabulary did kirk session records use?
- Which Scots words survive in Burns's poetry?
- Where can researchers find these records today?
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue?
- What was the 'cutty stool'?
- What does 'houghmagandie' mean?
- Are kirk session records open to the public?
Sources
- dsl.ac.uk — https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/fornicatioun
- nrscotland.gov.uk — https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/church-records
- scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk — https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/holy-willies-prayer/
General information, not legal or religious advice.