Definition
A Scots law variant of "notarial." The term appears in Scottish legal sources to describe anything of, relating to, or performed by a notary public — including notarial acts, instruments, and authentications. Outside of Scots law and historical legal dictionaries, the term has no independent standing; modern usage defaults to "notarial" in all common law jurisdictions.
Common Confusion
NOTORIAL / NOTARIAL: These terms are functionally identical in meaning. "Notorial" is the Scots form; "notarial" is the standard English and American form. Researchers encountering "notorial" in a historical Scots legal text should treat it as equivalent to "notarial" and cross-reference under that term. The two should not be confused with "notorious," a distinct adjective appearing in adverse possession doctrine and criminal law contexts.
Why It Matters in Research
The only research significance of "notorial" is its status as a jurisdictional spelling variant. A researcher working in historical Scottish legal records — deeds, instruments of sasine, testamentary documents, or commercial paper authenticated before a Scottish notary — may encounter "notorial" where an English or American source would say "notarial." Failure to recognize the equivalence could lead to missed cross-references or a mistaken assumption that the term carries a meaning distinct from notarial.
Researchers consulting the Law Mind corpus on topics related to notarial acts, document authentication, or instruments of conveyance should index under NOTARIAL as the primary term. "Notorial" functions as a variant entry only.
The practical trap in historical sources: Scottish legal texts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries frequently cite Bell's Dictionary (the source cited by all four dictionaries here) as the authority for Scots law terminology. If a source cites Bell for a legal term, that is a signal the term may be a Scots form of a more familiar English legal concept — warranting a cross-check under the standard English spelling before treating the term as carrying an independent or specialized meaning.
No significant evolution in meaning attaches to this term. It does not appear to have broadened, narrowed, or shifted usage over time. It is simply the Scots spelling, now archaic even in Scottish legal practice, which has standardized on "notarial."
Historical Dictionary Support
All four source dictionaries — Black's (both editions), Rapalje & Lawrence, and Burrill — are in complete agreement: "notorial" is the Scots form of "notarial," and each refers the reader to Bell's Dictionary as authority. The uniformity is notable. No dictionary assigns an independent definition; each treats the term as a redirect. This unanimity across four major historical dictionaries confirms there is no hidden depth to the term — it is purely a spelling variant with no substantive legal distinction from "notarial."
Black's 2nd Edition is the only source that appends a definition of "notoriety" and "proof by notoriety" in the same block of text, but this appears to be a typographic artifact of the original pagination rather than a suggestion that notorial and notoriety are related concepts. They are not.
Jurisdictional Note
"Notorial" is specific to historical Scots law. English, American, and other common law jurisdictions use "notarial" exclusively. Modern Scottish legal practice has also standardized on "notarial." Researchers should not expect to encounter "notorial" in any post-nineteenth-century source.