Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue

Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue
Name	Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue
Country	Scotland
Language	Scots, English
Subject	Historical lexicography
Publisher	Scottish National Dictionary Association; University of Edinburgh Press
Pub date	1931–2002 (print); ongoing (digital)

Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue is a comprehensive historical lexicon documenting Scots language usage from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries. It serves as a major reference for medieval and Early Modern Scots literature, law, and administration, informing scholarship across University of Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, British Library, University of Glasgow, and University of Aberdeen. The work has been used by researchers connected to institutions such as Scottish Parliament, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Historic Environment Scotland, National Trust for Scotland, and cultural projects linked to Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Background and Purpose

Conceived in the context of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century lexicographical initiatives like the Oxford English Dictionary and the Scottish National Dictionary, the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue aimed to compile lexical evidence from manuscripts, chronicles, and literary texts including those by John Barbour, Blind Hary, Robert Henryson, William Dunbar, and James VI of Scotland. Its purpose was to document etymology, variant spellings, semantic change, and usage exemplified in sources such as the Registers of the Privy Council of Scotland, the Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, and the poetic corpus associated with the Northern Renaissance. Funders and supporters included bodies like the Royal Society of London, the Caledonian Railway Company (via philanthropic patrons), and private collectors linked to the Crawford family and Dalrymple family.

Compilation and Editorial History

Initiated under the patronage of scholars influenced by editors of the Oxford English Dictionary and the Middle English Dictionary, the project’s early direction came from figures associated with University of Aberdeen and University of Glasgow; later editorial leadership involved staff at University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Text Society. Key editors and contributors included antiquarians and philologists who worked alongside curators from the National Museums of Scotland, librarians from the Bodleian Library, and legal historians connected to Advocates Library. The editorial methodology mirrored practices used in projects like Early English Text Society editions and drew upon palaeographical expertise exemplified by researchers at Cambridge University Library and the British Museum. The multi-decade compilation required coordination with archives such as the Sasines Register, parish records from Stirling, castle muniments at Edinburgh Castle, and private archives like the John Sinclair Papers.

Structure and Content

Organized alphabetically, the Dictionary presents headwords with citations drawn from primary sources spanning chronicles, poem-cycles, legal rolls, and ecclesiastical records including material from St Andrews Cathedral, Glasgow Cathedral, and the Dalhousie Papers. Entries provide variant orthographies, glosses, dates, and illustrative quotations from authors such as Andrew of Wyntoun, Gavin Douglas, George Buchanan, and anonymous legal documents from the Stewart administrations. The apparatus parallels conventions used in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and the Dictionary of Medieval Latin, offering cross-references that assist comparative study with Middle English glossaries and Continental resources like the Trésor de la langue française.

Publication and Editions

The printed edition was produced over the twentieth century by academic presses and societies connected to University of Edinburgh Press, the Scottish Text Society, and local philanthropic enterprises in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Fascicles and volumes appeared intermittently between the 1930s and early 2000s, reflecting production patterns similar to those of the Oxford English Dictionary fascicles and the multi-volume Dictionary of American Regional English. Later consolidated editions and revised printings involved partnerships with institutions such as the Royal Historical Society and benefactors linked to the Pilgrim Trust. Critical editions incorporated editorial revisions inspired by standards used in Cambridge University Press publications.

Reception and Influence

Scholars in fields connected to medieval and early modern Scottish studies—including researchers at University of St Andrews, King's College London, Trinity College Dublin, and the Institute of Historical Research—have regarded the Dictionary as indispensable for textual criticism, translation, and historical linguistics. It has informed literary studies of figures like Robert Burns through reception history work, fed into lexicographical comparisons with the Dictionary of the Scots Language, and influenced revival projects promoted by cultural bodies such as Creative Scotland and the Scottish Arts Council. Its impact is visible in legal-historical studies involving the Treaty of Union, genealogical research tied to the Clan Campbell and Clan MacDonald, and heritage interpretation at sites managed by Historic Scotland.

Digital Access and Ongoing Projects

Digitisation initiatives have brought the Dictionary into online platforms maintained by partners including the National Library of Scotland, the University of Glasgow, and the Digital Humanities teams at King's College London and University College London. Projects for searchable corpora and linked data follow models used by the Perseus Project and the Text Encoding Initiative, enabling interoperability with resources such as the Middle English Dictionary Online and the Early English Books Online corpus. Ongoing work involves collaboration with archives like the Scottish Archive Network and research programmes funded by bodies such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the European Research Council to refine metadata, develop teaching tools for institutions including Glasgow School of Art, and support community engagement via platforms connected to the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

Category:Scots language Category:Lexicography