Contributors to DOST

Since the commencement of work on the Dictionary shortly after World War One, a truly remarkable number of individuals and institutions have helped to further its aims and hasten its completion, whether by reading and excerpting printed or manuscript texts for quotation material, donating or lending books or transcripts, or simply facilitating the access of Dictionary staff or volunteers to such materials. Others have contributed their expertise by answering queries on a vast range of specialised topics. Many individuals have contributed in more than one of these categories.

Acknowledgment of these contributions has been made at different times in the Prefaces to various earlier volumes, but no exhaustive list of helpers and contributors has yet been published. What follows is intended to remedy that omission.

Pre-eminent among the Dictionary’s helpers in the early years was Miss Isabella B. Hutchen, sister-in-law of Sir William Craigie. In 1921 Miss Hutchen was engaged to organise and direct the work of the voluntary readers. She also personally read and excerpted some 300 volumes of printed and manuscript material, and copied out the glossaries to publications of the Scottish Text Society. She also helped with the sub-editing of A to F.

Mrs Craigie was of great assistance in the early stages of the project, and Sir William’s sister Miss Mary Craigie copied out several major texts, including Wynt. and Hay, thereby adding many thousands of quotations to the Dictionary’s basic stock.

Miss Mary R. Taylor read over 160 substantial volumes for the Dictionary. Mr A. McKerral, Mrs Janet Pottinger and Dr M. P. Ramsay each read between 80 and 100 volumes. A. H. May Esq. and his daughter Miss May were together responsible for excerpting over 70 volumes. Professor M. L. Anderson supplied transcripts of some 50 manuscript volumes and many other smaller pieces, and excerpted several rare 16th century printed grammars. Other substantial contributors were Sir Bruce Seton, Dr W. A. Munro, Mrs H. L. D. Henderson, Mrs Jessie Templeton, Mr J. P. Dawson and Mr C. H. Johnson.

Contributors who excerpted between 1 and 20 volumes were: Mrs Norma (later, Chandra) Aitken, Mr Ashton, Miss Marjory A. Bald, Mr P. J. Barlow, Professor P. F. Baum, Dr George F. Black, Mr D. A. Campbell, Rev. Dr G. Christie, A. Melville Clark, Mr A. N. Dalgleish, Mr George Dott, Mr Donald Doull, Mr (later, Professor) A. Fenton, William J. Fortune, Mr G. M. Fraser, Mr W. D. Grant, Dr E. F. Guy, J. B. Hamilton, Mr J. R. C. Hamilton, Dr Alison H. Hanham, Mr H. Henderson, Lt.-Col. J. E. Henderson, Miss P. Hewlings, Dr B. Hill, Miss Isdale, Rev. J. B. Johnston, Mrs Kemshead, Mrs J. Lowther, Rev. J. R. Macdonald, Rev. R. K. Macdonald, W. J. Macdonald, A. Mackenzie-Catton, Mr I. McLennan, Dr H. H. Meier, Dr Anna Mill, Mrs M. F. Morris, Dr Ian Morrison, Mrs M. Mott, Mr D. D. Murison, Mr K. C. and Mrs P. R. Phillips, Professor W. L. Renwick, Professor R. L. G. Ritchie, J. Robertson, Miss M. Robertson, A. Russell, L. T. Sharp, Mr J. A. Smellie, George Smith, Miss M. D. Nimmo Smith, Mrs Somerset, Miss Sommerville, Miss Soutar, Mrs A. Stewart, R. Morris Stewart, Miss M. Tait, Miss J. M. Templeton, Rev. W. Thom, Mrs Torrance, Miss A. E. Walker, W. A. Walker, Miss E. A. Warren, George Watson, Mr H. W. Whitbread, R. G. Whitwell, A. M. Williams, Mrs M. C. Wilson and Mr J. S. Wolley.

Contributions of quotation material were also received from Miss E. M. Abbott, Dr J. W. M. Bannerman, Professor G. W. S. Barrow, Professor Priscilla Bawcutt, Mrs F. Burton, Dr David H. Caldwell, Dr Sarah J. G. Caldwell, David Aitken Campbell, Dr James Craigie, A. N. Dalgleish, Mrs M. G. Dareau, Mrs Mary Denovan, Mr Charles P. Finlayson, Mr Ian Fraser, Dr J. T. D. Hall, Professor Henry Hargreaves, Mrs Hester L. D. Henderson, Lt.-Col. J. P. Henderson, B. Hill, Dr Luuk Houwen, Neil Ker, Professor R. J. Lyall, Professor A. A. MacDonald, Miss M. O. MacDougall, Mr C. T. McInnes, Dr John MacInnes, Mr Colin McLaren, Mr D. McNaughton, Dr P. G. B. McNeill, Dr L. MacQueen, Dr Rosalind K. Marshall, Rev. William Matheson, Dr R. W. Munro, Mrs Patricia R. Phillips, F. Quinn, Dr W. E. K. Rankin, Dr David Reid, Professor W. L. Renwick, Mr J. D. M. Robertson, Miss Mima Robertson, Mrs Mairi Robinson, Joyce M. Sanderson, the Scottish Text Society, Mr W. D. H. Sellar, Mr P. Shuldham-Shaw, Dr Grant G. Simpson, J. A. Smellie, Mr Brian Smith, Sheriff D. B. Smith, Dr Raymond Smith, Dr Alasdair Stewart, Miss Tait, David Boath Thoms, Mrs Thomson, A. E. Truckell and Mr H. D. Watson.
Many of the abovementioned also gave generously of their time to advise on particular points of interest and to answer queries relating to entries in the Dictionary. Other helpers in this category, who in many cases were also donors or lenders of books, transcripts or facsimiles of relevant material, were Miss C. M. Armet, Miss Helen Armet, Mr John Ballantyne, Rev. James Balloch, Mr P. J. Barlow, Mrs Barlow, Miss Bartasova, Dr Jamie Reid Baxter, Professor Michael Benskin, Mr Ronald Black, Mr Claude Blair, Mr A. M. Broom, Miss Beth Brown, Lord Bruce, Charles Burnett (Ross Herald), Dr Catherine van Buuren, Dr D. H. Caldwell, Neil Cameron, Professor John Cartwright, Professor F. G. Cassidy, R. Coupland, Mr Ian Cunningham, Dr Bror Danielsson, Dr Michel Dareau, Professor W. Croft Dickinson, Right Rev. Mark Dilworth OSB, Dr David Ditchburn, Norman Dixon, Professor Gordon Donaldson, Mrs Duff, Professor A. A. M. Duncan, John Farish, Professor A. Fenton, Professor Angelo Forte, Professor Denton Fox, Mr Ian A. Fraser, Father Gallacher, Miss Marjorie Gardiner, Professor W. Gillies, Professor Jonathan A. Glenn, I. D. Grant, Dr I. F. Grant, William D. Grant, Alexander F. Gray, Miss Hilda E. P. Grieve, E. F. Guy, Dr Alison H. Hanham, Dr Theo van Heynsbergen, Nicholas Holmes, Mr Hutchison (Keeper, Scottish National Portrait Gallery), Dr John Imrie, Miss Ann Izatt, Mr W. T. Johnston, Father Tom Kearns, Francis M. Kelly Jr, Father C. Kuipers, Dr Guðrun Kvaran, Professor Robert E. Lewis, Dr Emily B. Lyle, Dr Caroline Macafee, Dr Leslie Macfarlane, Mr A. McKerral, Mr D. McNaughton, W. A. McNeill, Professor Hector MacQueen, Dr C. A. Malcolm, Sir James Mann, Walter D. Mason, Stuart Maxwell, Nicholas J. Mayhew, Miss M. Milne, Dr Ian Morrison, Mr D. D. Murison, Dr Athol Murray, Lt.-Col. and Mrs J. K. R. Murray, A. V. B. Norman, Dr John Oliver, Mr Hermann Pálsson, Dr David Parkinson, Tom Pattie, Dr T. I. Rae, Margaret Robertson, Dr Alison Rosie, Mr and Mrs J. Ross, Dr Margaret H. B. Sanderson, W. J. Scholes, Dr Allen Simpson, Dr Jane Slater, Dr Robert N. Smart, Geoffrey P. Stell, Miss Stevens, Stewartry District Council, Mrs Margaret Swain, Naomi Tarrant, A. B. Taylor, Mr D. B. Thoms, Miss M. M. K. Thomson, Dr A. M. Trewin, Dr Bruce Walker, Mrs Marjory H. Ward, Professor Ian Whittaker de Beaugé, Mr Donald Whyte, Dr Keith Williamson, Dr Marguerite Wood, Rev. R. V. W. Selby Wright, Elspeth Yeo, and a number of research students (from 1928 onwards).

Among the above readers, excerptors and advisers who contributed directly to the Dictionary are some who also helped by allowing access by others to materials in their possession or keeping. To their number can be added the names of the Dukes of Argyll, Atholl and Buccleuch, Mr Claude Blair (Victoria and Albert Museum), Major D. C. Bowser, Lord Bruce, the Marquis of Bute, the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, Miss Grace Elliot, Lord Home, Dr Angus Macdonald, Mr Stuart Maxwell (National Museum of Antiquities), the Earl of Moray, Rev. Dr John Morrison (Church of Scotland Library), Dr R. C. Reid, Dr E. A. Sheppard, Mrs Helena Shire and Mrs M. E. C. Stewart, Lord David Stuart.

Access to manuscripts and other materials was also generously granted by the town councils, town clerks and other officials of the burghs of Aberdeen, Ayr, Crail, Cullen, Cupar, Dumfries, Dundee, Duns, Edinburgh, Forres, Glasgow, Inveraray, Montrose, Newburgh (Fife), Pittenweem, Prestwick, Rutherglen and Stranraer, and by the ministers, session clerks and kirk sessions of Brechin Cathedral and the parish churches of Crail, Cramond (Edinburgh), Cullen, Dumfries, Fraserburgh and St John’s Kirk, Perth. The Secretary of the National Register of Archives (Scotland), the librarians of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, the Council and Secretary of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the Librarian of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, the Masonic Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary’s Chapel) No. 1, the Clerk of the Incorporation of Cordiners of Edinburgh, the microfilm department of the Office of the British Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Curator of Perth Art Gallery and Museum, the County Librarians of Berwickshire and Dumfriesshire and the Council of the Scottish Text Society were also helpful in this respect.

The staff also benefited from the expertise of many archivists, librarians and researchers in a variety of institutions and research organisations, notably the staff of the Historical Search Room of the Scottish Record Office (now the National Archives of Scotland), the staff of Edinburgh University Library, the School of Scottish Studies, the Linguistic Survey of Scotland, the Scottish National Dictionary, the Middle English Dictionary, Edinburgh City Libraries, the National Library of Scotland, the Royal Museum of Scotland, the Signet Library, the Scottish Music Information Centre, the Burgh Library of Selkirk, Glasgow University Library, the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, the Bodleian Library, Oxford, the British Library and the British Museum.

Paul Bratley and Neil Hamilton-Smith were instrumental in helping Professor A. J. Aitken to set up the Older Scottish Textual Archive of computer-readable texts (see the Preface to Volume Four). Since the first computer was installed in the DOST offices in 1983, staff have been able to call on the expert help of Edinburgh University Computing Services, and we are particularly grateful to Colin Davies, Crystal Webster and Christina Hussell of the Arts, Divinity, Music and Library Support Team for their help and advice with computing problems.
Mrs Linda Aitken, with contributions of the text and advice from the DOST staff, constructed and maintained the DOST website from 1998 onwards.