Searching for my next genealogical index, I reviewed the many works which need such an asset, and eventually decided that the two small volumes of the Burgh Court Book of Selkirk, covering the years 1503-1545, merited attention. As these had been published 40 years ago by the Scottish Record Society, I contacted the current Secretary of the society, to gain approval by the society for my proposed index. He was delighted and gave me much encouragement.

Now, it is always worthwhile to have a quick look through the volume you are about to index, and look for possible difficulties or oddities about the work. I discovered that in 1513 there was a list of 160 names constituting the community of Selkirk, and from various indicators (e.g. all males) I decided this was a list of householders in the burgh. There were other later lists (1521,523, 1526) which were clearly stent (local tax) rolls, with amounts attached to each name.
Such lists are among the earliest ever found in UK records, so worth noting. Once I have completed the indexing, I shall need to put together an article about these early lists. The names, for example, are clearly written as sounded by the person saying his name, so that forenames vary considerably - woll/wolle it seems are meant to be Will or Willie, the diminutive of William. Latin is used intermittently, and here can be found with Broad Scots all in one paragraph where the author suddenly switches from Latin to Scots and back again!

Occupations and relationships appear quite often in the text, so that it should be much easier to identify persons, but there is a tendency to fail to mrecord the female spouse's maiden surname ("John Smyth's spouse Bessie"), or even worse, "Bessie Smyth, spouse of John Smyth", as her maiden surname is probably not Smyth. Other instances make clear the maiden surnames of married women, but this inconsistency is annoying, and can be awkward to index effectively. Some names are still in the process of becoming surnames, such as "Stephen of Lawder" sometimes also called "Stephen Lawder". Many instances occur of names appearing in their Latin form, and in such cases I have decided that these should be indexed like seperate names, so that anyone interested in the development of names in Scotland can note such variations.

Other interesting points are the sasines which are recorded, giving details of local pieces of land changing hands. There are many of these, or court cases where there is dispute about land, crops, or possessions, usually with values attached. Inflation is a standard effect today, but back 500 years ago there was little change in prices and valuation of property. I now realise I am getting into what should properly be in an article for publication in a journal, so I shall leave off at this point. Look for the new index in a couple of months!